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237.131 Week 11

1. In each of your assignments for Studio this year you made work that responded to a concept integral to the pōwhiri process – Mihimihi, Tūrangawaewae, Ātea, and Hākari. Define the concept that corresponds with the project you feel was the best thing you made in Studio all year. (25 words)

Turangawaewae refers your belonging to a land as well as the understanding of all connections between places, it corresponds with the kaitiakitanga and whakapapa. Turangawaewae acknowledges existing relationships and knowledges rooted in specific sites.

2. Discuss the work you made: describe its physical attributes, the concept/s behind it, and the wide context in which you made it. (100 words)

Motuihe Somes Island stands in Wellington harbour in all its beauty. The ferry over is idyllic in itself, but once on the island, an overwhelming sense of tranquility drifts over you. It’s hard to imagine such a place with a rather grim and tragic history. Motuihe Somes Island was once a pā of refuge for Maori, as well as a quarantine site and enemy alien “internee” camp in both world wars. The Tūrangawaewae brief pushed me to explore the ideas of kaitiakitanga and mana within a place. Thus connecting me with both the explicit existence of a space and the intangible knowledge’s of the island.

3. Erna Stachl discusses decolonisation and Mana Wahine in her lecture. How did you consider gender and/or indignity and/or the intersections between the two in your work? Use key ideas in the lecture and the texts by Ani Mikaere and Linda Tuhiwai-Smith to support your arguments. (75 words)

The role of gender was not a prominent topic in this piece as i focused primarily on the communication of the island itself. The intersection of gender and indignity in relation to knowledge rooted within the Island is a compelling notion. However, my work primarily reflected a lack of indignity. Focusing on the more contemporary history of Motuihe Somes Island being a quarantine and internee camp, i chose to emphasise the displacement and isolation of individuals.